Cybersecurity platformization can pay off for your organization in a number of ways. For one thing, being able to secure and manage your enterprise network security through a single pane of glass results in less complexity and better cybersecurity outcomes. Otherwise, managing a patchwork of security assets from multiple vendors leads to unnecessary operational challenges. And, if you have the right network security platform in place, there’s the financial payoff.
Imagine getting a 174% return on investment and realizing a net present value (NPV) of $26.2 million over three years. And, consider a payback period of less than 6 months to recoup your investment. For interviewed customers, this was the potential for using the Palo Alto Networks Strata Platform.
The recently released 2024 Forrester Consulting study: The Total Economic Impact™ Of The Strata Network Security Platform From Palo Alto Networks found that these returns on investment were achieved by a composite organization representative of nine interviewed customers with experience using the Strata Network Security Platform. This study, commissioned by Palo Alto Networks, also surveyed an additional 158 respondents on their usage of software firewalls and illustrates how platformization can be the catalyst for making sure financial gains accompany significant improvements in security posture.
Siloed Security Weakens Agility
It’s important to note where subjects in the study found themselves, prior to adopting the Strata Network Security Platform. Interviewees described working in environments with inconsistent and incomplete security. They used a disparate collection of up to 17-point solutions. This hodgepodge approach of siloed solutions resulted in security teams struggling to understand the bigger picture, and unable to secure infrastructure in a uniform way. But to keep up with ongoing security challenges, these organizations kept adding patchwork coverage to support their growing and changing businesses.
To meet today’s cybersecurity and business challenges, these organizations looked to see what they could improve:
- Solve security gaps resulting from disparate solutions that did not integrate and work well together.
- Improve user productivity by improving the user experience. Many business and end users faced disruptions to their work for extended periods of time.
- Scale security to meet business growth, as interviewees noted that their previous security solutions were unable to match opportunity.
These organizations also wanted more. They looked for more than a security vendor – a security partner with extensive industry experience, capable of providing integrated network security across environments. Interviewees chose Palo Alto Networks and the Strata Network Security Platform to meet immediate integrated network security requirements, as well as challenges down the road.
Efficiency and Time Savings Pay for Themselves
The Strata Network Security Platform encompasses firewalls (both hardware and software), cloud-delivered security services and Prisma SASE for complete network security, which delivered significant benefits for the customers involved in the study. All components in the platform are tightly tied together with the Panorama management system. With the platform in place, the composite organization discovered significant security and financial benefits over a three-year period.
Time is money, as the saying goes. With the platform in place, the composite organization reaped the rewards of spending 60% less time handling security incidents. And how about 30% of staff time recaptured, due to better availability and less downtime? Consider the dollar figures attached to these time savings:
- Improved security and IT operational efficiencies, such as reducing the number of incidents requiring manual investigation by 65%, for savings of $2.9 million.
- Efficiency gains of 80% in firewall deployment, policy changes and new site setups for a savings of $2.2 million.
- Improved end-user productivity by reducing disruption and system downtime, totaling $26.5 million in business value.
- Consolidation benefits from retiring and avoiding security infrastructure, worth $8.3 million.
I encourage you to read the 2024 Forrester Consulting study and get the full details about how you can build a business case for adopting the Strata Network Security Platform. You’ll see why platformization provided increased agility and scalability that paid for itself and more.